Tainted Water
by Fatherfail
Summary: Fiore is a different place now. People are too scared to do anything about the terrible things that are going on. Fairy Tail and the other guilds are too weak to do anything until one day, during the Grand Magic Games, a descendant of the Salamander challenges the evil that sits upon the throne of Fiore. AU and OCs accepting. Based on Fairy Tail
1. Lord of Rust

**I planned to write this a while ago, but complications came up, and I couldn't find the time. To be honest, I am pretty busy right now with school, so I probably shouldn't be writing, but I thought I would get my mind off of school by writing this. **

**This is obviously an AU story, and it's based off of Fairy Tail. Canon characters are dead, but their grandchildren are alive. I think I'll just get this started.**

…

"_Do not drink the tainted water. The black water clouds the mind and brings visions of terrible evil, resulting in insanity or death." – Wendy Marvel, Chief Medic of Fairy Tail _

…

The entire stadium erupted into cheering, every seat filled. The grassy center of the huge stone stadium was occupied by a single brown haired man with a cocky smile, raising his fist into the air. The man was dressed in a brown leather coat with a white cape attached at the shoulders. His eyes were focused on a luxury box that sat above him, looking at the center of the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting to you, Lord Michael Rust, a member of the undefeated Team Oculus!"

The crowd went wild, the shouts and cheering growing louder with every second. Even with the cheering, Lord Rust's eyes never left the luxury box.

...

"Lord Rust is supposed to be the favorite to win in this match, your highness." whispered the old man with thinning grey hair to the young man sitting in the elaborately carved chair that looked out into the stadium.

The luxury box was relatively quiet compared to the rest of the stadium, and only three people occupied it. One of them, an older man with thinning grey hair with a sharp nose and the constant expression of a noble looking down on some peasant, and a younger, stone faced man, with short brown hair and broad muscular shoulders. Sitting in the chair was a young blonde man, his expression snide, and hands drumming the armrests impatiently. The blonde's eyes were watching the stadium's center carefully, never for a moment looking away.

"Of course he's the favorite to win, Baldwin. Have you ever seen Michael lose to anybody?" chuckled the blonde man, Baldwin bowing towards him.

"Excuse me, your majesty, but hasn't Michael lost before? If I remember correctly-"

A wave of young man sitting in the chair stopped Baldwin short. The young man scoffed as he continued to watch the happenings in the center of the stadium.

"That was the exception. I recognized that Michael had incredible talent, so I sent in the best, isn't that right, Lord Hector Stone?" smiled the young man as the stone faced noble beside him nodded his head.

"Yes, anything for my king!" he said robotically, snapping to attention as soon as the young king had called his name.

The king yawned as he watched Michael defeat the most recent challenger, the challenger going down without even being able to make a scratch on the member of Team Oculus. The king finally turned away from the stadium to look at Baldwin.

"Is this really the best they can do? I should only hold the tournaments every two years now…" muttered the king as he stood to leave the luxury box.

"That would have been Yeol Longwood from Saber Tooth who just fought. The next guild to fight would be Fairy Tail. I have heard that their candidate is very formidable." Baldwin said slyly as the king suddenly stopped and sat back down.

"They're no match for Michael." chuckled Lord Stone as the loudspeaker crackled to life, announcing the next match.

"And now, from the legendary guild Fairy Tail, Gerard Dragneel*!" shouted the announcer as the entire crowd went silent at the calling of the challenger's name.

From the luxury box, the king raised an eyebrow. Dragneel? This was going to be interesting. Down on the stadium floor, Michael turned to face his next challenger, not even worn out by the battles he had fought so far. The steel gate at the other end of the stadium rolled open and the challenger stepped out into the arena. The challenger had pink hair, sharp canine teeth, and wore a red vest with a white scaly around his chest like a sash. His golden colored eyes were fierce as he faced Michael confidently.

"You used to be a part of Fairy Tail, right? I remember watching your match when I was a few years younger. You were probably one of the strongest in the entire guild, but you left. Why." demanded the pink haired mage from Fairy Tail.

The noble dressed in the brown leather jacket grinned and answered with a mocking tone. He unclipped his cape and threw it to the side, smiling cockily at Gerard.

"I got annoyed with your constant talk of 'nakama'. I moved onto better things." answered Michael simply as Gerard clenched his fists.

"Don't give me that crap…"

Michael smirked. The fool was getting all emotional. Too bad that kind of emotional strength didn't exist.

"Then show me what you got, Gerard!" shouted Michael as the announcers shouted into the speakers.

"Let the match begin!"

…

**This chapter wasn't as good as I hoped. This is an OC story, so send in OCs if you like it so far. Form should be on my profile. **

**References:*Yes, Gerard Dragneel is Natsu's grandson. They named him after Jellal/Gerard.**

**Other than that, I really don't have much to say. I apologize for the random-ish setting and thrusting everybody into confusion with this chapter. Anyways, I'll see you all later. FF**


	2. The World Burner

**Uh yeah…I'm still on hiatus, but I'm putting up this chapter because I got bored. Writing is just so hard for me right now. I felt really, really bad about not writing as much as I used to, so I kind of forced myself to write. Sorry if this isn't the best, but I can't just leave you with nothing. **

…

The fight had begun, and the crowd roared with approval as the two mages charged towards each other, ready to pulverize each other. Everyone in the crowd knew that Michael Rust was going to be the winner. He was a member of Team Oculus, the team made up of the strongest mages in the world. There was no way he could lose. Everyone believed Gerard would lose. However, Gerard's guild refused to give up hope.

Sitting in the Fairy Tail stands was a girl wearing armor, around Gerard's height and age. Her stormy gray eyes watched Gerard maneuver around Michael's vicious iron based attacks. She had the red hair of Erza Scarlet, a legend among the people of Fiore. The girl watching Gerard fight from the stands was wearing the same armor Erza had used to wear outside of battle, and the girl winced with every attack that struck Gerard. But she didn't give up hope. Nobody in Fairy Tail for a second even stopped cheering for Gerard. They waved flags, held up banners, and screamed at the top of their lungs for Gerard to win.

"Dragneel! Dragneel! Dragneel!"

The crowd within the stadium cheered even louder as Gerard took a direct hit, the impact of the huge iron slab sending Gerard smashing into the ground. The cheering reached its peak as Michael walked towards Gerard, a cocky grin on his face as he looked down at the Fairy Tail mage.

"I'm a little disappointed. You carry the last name of 'Dragneel', but you're strength barely surpasses those of Blue Pegasus." sneered Michael as Gerard spit out blood, the red liquid staining the green grass.

The Fairy Tail mage was badly bruised and bleeding from several wounds, but his golden eyes drilled into Michael's face with incredible strength. Michael waved his hand and the ground parted slightly as an elaborately decorated sword came from the ground, the noble gripping it in his hand and looking at it with admiration before placing the tip of the sword at Gerard's throat. Michael's cold gaze followed the blade down and he whispered quietly so that only Gerard could hear him.

"You know, it would be a shame if I were to kill you. The rules don't allow me to kill you, but I'm sure King Vincent would allow me this one. Little. Casualty." whispered Michael cruelly as Gerard smiled, an unusual facial expression for the situation he was in.

The armored girl watching from the stands gasped as Gerard slowly smiled. She had seen Gerard make the same smile before, and the results were not pretty. The entire Fairy Tail section began cheering even louder as they waved their flags and banners even harder than before. Gerard heard the cheering increase, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the girl in armor nod her head. It was time. His eyes flicked back towards Michael's.

"If you want to kill me right now, go ahead. But I know you like a challenge. You haven't had a fight like this since you were defeated yourself!" Gerard almost laughed at Michael's slight change in expression when the defeat was mention. "I will give you that challenge, and I will show you the power of Fairy Tail!"

Michael let out a ferocious cry as he moved to drive the sword through Gerard's throat, but it was too late. The flames had already smashed straight into him, sending the noble flying back, slamming into the ground. The crowd let out a huge gasp, and from the luxury box, King Vincent's eyebrow twitched. The noble quickly brushed himself off, scrambling to challenge Gerard, but the opportunity never came as three hits in rapid succession were dealt, the noble's body jerking with every hit. The flames were intense, unlike any seen before. They burned dark red with a black core, surrounding Gerard as he walked towards Michael.

"Ferrum!"

The iron slabs erupted from the ground, an attack that would have finished any fight from the very beginning. The slabs melted upon contact with Gerard's flames. The crowd's cheering intensified. Fairy Tail's cheering increased ten-fold, and it was Gerard's turn to smile confidently. Gerard could see the anger and disbelief in Michael's eyes as Gerard's fist was engulfed in dark red flame. The noble tried to attack again, but it was pointless. Gerard was already right in front of him, looking straight into Michael's eyes.

"If you start underestimating your opponents right away you are guaranteed to lose." Gerard said darkly as Michael raised his fist to attack.

"You are beneath me! I am Michael Rust, Lord of-"

"And I am the World Burner*!"

The sound of the fist smashing into Michael's jaw was heard throughout the stadium. The crowd watched with awe as Michael let out a shark cry of pain, his body twisting as he fell to the ground, his blood spilling onto the green grass. The Fairy Tail section erupted into cheering and the entire stadium exploded with applause.

In the luxury box, Lord Stone and Lord Glass braced themselves for the angry voice of their king, but they did not hear it. Instead, the young blonde man stood up, went to the edge of the luxury box, and waved his hand at Gerard and grinned happily.

"Yes! This is what I wanted! Congratulations, World Burner!" shouted King Vincent happily as Gerard turned to return to his stands.

…

Gerard left the Fairy Tail stands behind, walking through the stone corridors towards the resting rooms for the mages of each team. The cheering of another fight echoed around in the corridor, but Gerard didn't care. He needed to talk to someone.

"Gerard, wait up!"

The voice surprised him, and Gerard turned to see the girl with red hair in the stands. She was wearing the armor and Gerard smiled weakly as she ran up to congratulate him.

"Mira, what are you doing here?" asked Gerard as Mira smiled at him.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your win! Where are you going anyways?" she asked curiously as Gerard stepped back and turned around.

"I can't talk right now. I just need some time to myself." answered Gerard quietly as Mira made a worried face. "Don't worry, just go back to the stands. I'll be back later."

And with that, the World Burner left, leaving Mira Scarlet behind.

…

Gerard found the door soon enough. Each guild had a medical and preparation room for use before the start of the tournament and in case of a serious injury, but Gerard was not there for medicine or rest. He needed to talk. He needed answers. He pushed open the door to see an old woman sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, reading a heavy book of plants. She was shorter than Gerard by a few inches, and her skin was wrinkled with age. She looked up with wise eyes as Gerard came in, and she gave him a nod.

"I heard that you were victorious against Lord Rust. It is a great triumph for the forces of justice." said the old woman contently as Gerard grabbed a chair from the medical room and sat in front of the old woman.

"I understand that it is a great victory, but I didn't come to hear praise. I came to get answers, Wendy." said Gerard seriously as Wendy's face darkened. "I fought Michael and won, but I don't understand why he would have switched sides in the first place. He was kicking and screaming with what little strength he had left when they came to take him away. But he's different now. I want to know why." said Gerard as Wendy nodded her head slowly, her wise mind thinking about what Gerard has asked.

Finally, the Chief Medic of Fairy Tail answered.

"You know of the black water that flows in the rivers, ponds, and lakes?" Gerard nodded his head. "When they took Michael away, they forced him to drink the tainted water. The water taints the mind, and changes people. It lets chaos and evil run free. Michael is gone, Gerard. The only one who can reverse the effects of the tainted water is the King of Kings." explained Wendy as she turned back towards her book of plants.

But Gerard was not satisfied. His fight with Michael had awoken a rebellious spirit Gerard had never felt before.

"Why don't we challenge the King of Kings and force him to reverse the effects? We have enough mages to take him down!" shouted Gerard excitedly as Wendy reached out and slapped him, glaring at him.

"Do not be a fool. You are young, but you do not have to be a fool. Who can challenge the King of Kings? How would we force him to do anything when he holds our lives in his hand? Who can challenge the Dark Guard and Team Oculus and live to tell the tale? People fear the godly power of the King of Kings, Gerard. You might have defeated Lord Rust, but you have many years to live before you can even hope to match the strength of the others in the Dark Guard." scolded Wendy as Gerard turned, grabbing his cheek.

"Then I'll find someone who doesn't fear the godly king." growled Gerard as he left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

…

**This chapter turned out a lot better than I thought. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and I'm happy with it. **

**References:*World Burner is a nickname Gerard was given because of his magic. The magic will be explained later.**

**I apologize for the lack of OCs appearing, but I didn't get many and I'm waiting for one right now. Gerard is not the main character btw. Anyways, I will see you guys later! FF**


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